New to me Boxster

[Baz]

Would be a good score if purchased for $10K or less, right?

I wonder if it's had it's IMS bearing replaced.

If not - do you guys think this should be done for this particular car? A '99 with only 45K miles?
__________________

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

I've owned a 2002 Boxster S for about ten years. I bought it from my son when my 1972 911 was slated to spend about a year in rust repair and paint. The Boxster was only supposed to be a "stopgap" until the '72 was back on the road. Ten years later, it ain't going nowhere...

These are simply wonderful little cars. Maybe one of the most underrated Porsches ever. Very light and nimble, simple analog cars easily maintained at home by any competent DIY mechanic. Everything Porsche used to be. A far, far cry from today's bloated, overly complicated rolling computers. A real joy to drive as well.

Congratulations. Enjoy it. It will make a fine partner to your 911 it's sharing a garage with.

If someone can tell me how to take 500 lb out of the car, I'd want one. That would be my kind of Boxster. Do you think you can take that much out?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by peppy

I wasn't really shopping, but I found this 1999 close to me with 45k on the odo and a decent price.

Congrats Peppy, it looks brand new! Will be interested in your pros and cons against your Carrera 6 months down the road. Hope they are all happy miles for you!

[Zeke]

We had a base Boxster for 22 years. Other than the fact that it was not comfortable for me at 6 feet and long legs, it was fun. It did handle extremely well and I once broke its cherry doing about 130. That was what the speedo said on standard size tires, so who knows the actual speed. But the 2.7 did something in 3 digits, that I know.

If the AOS goes away that will scare you with all the smoke. It's no big deal, just a little tricky to get to. Plan on a couple of scraped knuckles. Plastic water pump impeller should be changed at that age. Of course the IMS is a 5% concern. At today's prices I'd just run with it and throw the thing away if it lets loose.

I don't think Boxsters are the best car to get wet a lot. Do keep track of the drains. And since it gets cold in VA, don't move the top when the plastic window is cold. They all suffer from a few little problems and all of that is well documented.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

If someone can tell me how to take 500 lb out of the car, I'd want one. That would be my kind of Boxster. Do you think you can take that much out?

I messed around with my last one and got about 200 lbs out of it doing easy stuff. Carpet front and rear, radio, speakers, rear storage box, spare tire, stuff like that. All easy, reversible, and cheap. I also installed headers and a sport exhaust that were much lighter. I think 400-500 lbs would be pretty easy if you went farther with lightweight wheels, non power sport seats, remove the power top actuators, airbags, and sound deadening. The early base model cars are the lightest and most analog, I prefer the cable throttle pedal response over the later ones with drive by wire. Considering how cheap they are, this is a project that I’ve seriously considered. I would rip out the entire soft top mechanism and use a hard top, but I’m not really a convertible guy.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

If someone can tell me how to take 500 lb out of the car, I'd want one. That would be my kind of Boxster. Do you think you can take that much out?

Find a strippy and start pulling stuff out. Mine was 2750 curb weight and BSR race cars with full cage are 2450 curb. Just swapping out stock seats can drop nearly 100lbs.

[peppy]

Originally Posted by Baz

Would be a good score if purchased for $10K or less, right?

I wonder if it's had it's IMS bearing replaced.

If not - do you guys think this should be done for this particular car? A '99 with only 45K miles?
__________________

It was not less than $10K. The IMS bearing has not been replace, this car has the 2 row bearing. I had a PPI done and was told they had a hard time finding anything wrong with it. They found 1 louver missing on the passenger side engine vent, the vanity mirror covers are floppy, a bit of moisture in one of the turn signals and a scuff on the front bumper.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I messed around with my last one and got about 200 lbs out of it doing easy stuff. Carpet front and rear, radio, speakers, rear storage box, spare tire, stuff like that. All easy, reversible, and cheap. I also installed headers and a sport exhaust that were much lighter. I think 400-500 lbs would be pretty easy if you went farther with lightweight wheels, non power sport seats, remove the power top actuators, airbags, and sound deadening. The early base model cars are the lightest and most analog, I prefer the cable throttle pedal response over the later ones with drive by wire. Considering how cheap they are, this is a project that I’ve seriously considered. I would rip out the entire soft top mechanism and use a hard top, but I’m not really a convertible guy.

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

Find a strippy and start pulling stuff out. Mine was 2750 curb weight and BSR race cars with full cage are 2450 curb. Just swapping out stock seats can drop nearly 100lbs.

That's what I thought, was hoping for something major. Removing the entire convertible top and using tonneau would be fun. Carbon hood and decklid too. The lighter the car the better for me.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by peppy

It was not less than $10K. The IMS bearing has not been replace, this car has the 2 row bearing. I had a PPI done and was told they had a hard time finding anything wrong with it. They found 1 louver missing on the passenger side engine vent, the vanity mirror covers are floppy, a bit of moisture in one of the turn signals and a scuff on the front bumper.

I suspect many though not all will tell you to do the IMS ASAP for piece of mind.

Enjoy it!

[onewhippedpuppy]

I think I had four 986 and five 996 back in the day, all with the original IMS. The dual row IMS in the early cars was dramatically more reliable, though they can in theory fail. I believe you can check cam deviation with Durametric (great tool btw) to identify an IMS that’s on the way out.

My favorite mod on the 9X6 cars is a new shifter and knob. All of the OEM knobs are rubber centered and they break down over time, leading to vague and mushy shifting. Making things worse, the OEM shifter is all plastic and prone to getting sloppy. I like the Rennline aluminum knobs with a Numeric Racing shifter. You’ll need a new boot too, I always bought them from Redline Goods but it looks like Rennline is selling them now too. You can also replace the shift cables if the couplers start getting play in them, multiple options for those as well.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I think I had four 986 and five 996 back in the day, all with the original IMS. The dual row IMS in the early cars was dramatically more reliable, though they can in theory fail. I believe you can check cam deviation with Durametric (great tool btw) to identify an IMS that’s on the way out.

My favorite mod on the 9X6 cars is a new shifter and knob. All of the OEM knobs are rubber centered and they break down over time, leading to vague and mushy shifting. Making things worse, the OEM shifter is all plastic and prone to getting sloppy. I like the Rennline aluminum knobs with a Numeric Racing shifter. You’ll need a new boot too, I always bought them from Redline Goods but it looks like Rennline is selling them now too. You can also replace the shift cables if the couplers start getting play in them, multiple options for those as well.

I just purchased a Function First Short Shift kit (black version) and shift knob. The kit replaces the plastic bits within the carriage with cnc machined parts. I have not installed it yet.

[Jeff Higgins]

This whole IMS thing is a real conundrum. Probably the single most overblown "issue" in the history of Porsche. 20 years on, folks who are tuned into this issue (and not seeking to profit from it) seem to have arrived at some conclusions.

The only ones that seem to fail are the ones that were sealed and greased. Porsche later eliminated the seal, exposing the bearing to the engine oil mist floating about inside the cases. These never seem to fail. I'm not sure when the change was made. Some also suspect that on cars with sealed bearings, if driven enough and hard enough, the inner facing seal effectively fails and exposes the bearing just like the revised design.

The failure window appears to be around 30-40k miles. If it makes it through there, most agree it's going to be just fine.

The ones that failed seem to be almost universally on cars that sit a lot and make short trips. The grease just dries out, and the inner seal never "fails" enough to let crankcase oil mist past it. Many of these cars are never driven "hard enough", further contributing to the inner seal's longevity, grease drying out, and bearing failure.

Related to the above, the variable cam timing pistons, plungers, whatever they are called, also fail on cars not driven "hard enough". "Hard enough" means into the upper rev range, where the cam timing is changed by pressurized oil in these little cylinders. If that never happens, the same oil that it left Stuttgart (or Finland) with will still be in those little cylinders, now 20-some-odd years later, all caramelized and hard. There needs to be some flow through those things, so the oil in them gets renewed.

My car now has 174k miles on it. I just put the second new clutch in it. Never even considered the IMS bearing, which is still the original. Drive them properly, maintain them properly, and there will never be an issue.

[Zeke]

As usual, Jeff speaks the truth. The trouble is you don't now how the previous owner drove the car. I guess I drove ours enough to properly exercise it. It is very easy to get a ticket in one. 40 MPH seems like 20, 85 seems like 60.

The trans is a thing of excellent engineering. The drive-by-wire throttle that came to be in 2000, not so much. With a little effort I could mesh gears so as a passenger thought it was an automatic, upshifting or down. But there no 'feel' to the pedal. It's all muscle memory to drive these really well.

I had no problems with the shift ass'y.

The ignition switch tends to seize making it very hard to turn. Brake pedal switches fail. Sometimes the computer gets a hiccup and the window drop when operating the door stops working correctly. There will be these little things that can add up biggly ir you don't do any of your own work.

Durametrics ought to be cheap by now. I have one good for 3 VIN's with one used. I haven't used it in 15 years since the AOS deal.

[Jeff Higgins]

Yeah, that darn "drive by wire" throttle. My only real complaint. Just no "feel", especially when compared to my '72 MFI inducted 911. Really hard to rev match downshifts.

Er, I guess I have two complaints. Power is the other. The 3.2 in my "S" makes almost identical power as the 3.0 in my '72. Which would be great, if I could remove Shaun's 500 pounds from my Boxster, so it weighed the same as my 911.

But those are extremely niggling little complaints against the backdrop of the whole. All in all, just a fantastic little sports car, and one damn fine GT car as well. Not a supercar, not a "track weapon", very little "prestige" (even some disdain from the snooty unknowing), just great good fun to drive.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by astrochex

I just purchased a Function First Short Shift kit (black version) and shift knob. The kit replaces the plastic bits within the carriage with cnc machined parts. I have not installed it yet.

That’s another good one, I’ve used them as well. Way cheaper than the Numeric which is a machined aluminum work of art.

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm probably not the most qualified to comment, but I love the shifter in my Boxster. Dead stock, no mods whatsoever. Compared to the 901, 911, and 915 boxes that I "grew up on", it is magnificent. The only other frame of reference for me would be old Beetles and late '60's MOPAR muscle cars. Oh, and the odd F100 and Landcruiser three on the tree. The stock Boxster is head and shoulders above anything else I have ever owned.

[sc_rufctr]

I've always loved the Boxter. Good looking, simple & fun... Can I have one please?

What I never understood; Why was it labeled a "Hairdressers Car" when it was first released?
(Years ago that was the attitude in the 911 forum & it was mentioned in a Soprano's episode)

I'm really glad it shook off that label.

[DWBOX2000]

They sold a ton and the media loved them. The S knocked the corvette off car and drivers top ten list in year 1. That’s not to shabby. When put up against its contemporary’s, it pretty much dominated. All that and the 550 looks, not a bad car.

[Baz]

Yeah I was shocked at the performance of this car - never realised it was so quick and fun to drive!

[NY65912]

My only experience with a 986 was when my uncle bought a neighbor's 2000 Boxster base back in 2012. The car was garaged and had 35k on it, very clean Silver/Black. He loved the car. He took it in for a post purchase check up and was told he should do the IMS and a few other things, which were all performed.

Whenever I drove the car I felt cramped and found it to have a heavy feeling. Maybe I was comparing it to my 911s.

When he passed away in 2023 none of my cousins wanted it. The car was offered to me and I didn't want or need another car. I sold it for 8k. The car was like new. I should have bought it and put it away for my oldest grandson who is into P cars big time. Good luck with your new Boxster Peppy!

Cheers,
Mike